Masters student takes IChemE Design Project of the Year Award

Masters by Research student Hannah Wilkes was nominated for the award after her excellent performance at the culmination of her BEng course

UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield postgraduate student Hannah Wilkes is currently working on a project that could lead to improvements in the diagnosis of serious illness.  But she has just landed an award for the research she carried out as part of her first degree in chemical engineering.

Her tutors were so impressed by Hannah’s performance at the culmination of her Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) course that they nominated her for an annual Design Project of the Year Award bestowed by the North West region of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

She was selected as winner and this fresh success is on top of the First Class Honours she scored in her degree, which she obtained while helping to care for her two young children.

“The degree was hard work, but it comes a lot easier when you are enjoying it!” she said.

Hannah was nominated for the IChemE award by Professor Grant Campbell and by her tutor, Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering Dr Lande Liu, who is now supervisor of the Masters by Research degree she has embarked on following the BEng success.  When she has completed the second degree, Hannah will take up a post with Huddersfield-based chemical manufacturers Syngenta, which has close links with its local university.

In his nomination of Hannah for the award, Dr Liu stated how impressed he had been by her contribution to a demanding team project to design a chemical process.  She undertook the complex challenge of designing an ethylene oxide reactor.

“Overall, Hannah has shown an exceptional range of technical, professional and interpersonal skills to produce excellent individual work and to inspire and motivate the team to collective success,” wrote Dr Liu in his testimonial.

Now Hannah – whose husband is an electrical engineer – is working with Dr Liu for a Master’s on the use of nanoparticles in ultrasound imaging and their potential role in early pathology diagnosis.

Before embarking on her BEng, she worked for a Huddersfield dental practice.  But while on maternity leave she decided on degree study.  She had a passion for chemistry and an aptitude for mathematics, so chemical engineering was the route she chose, and it has now led to a new career direction and an IChemE award under her belt.